Arizona Coyotes severing ties with Mike Ribeiro

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Coyotes knew Mike Ribeiro had behavioral issues when they signed him before last season, but hoped a reunion with coach Dave Tippett would help him.

It didn’t, at least not to the Coyotes’ satisfaction.

The Coyotes initiated a buyout of the final three years of Ribeiro’s contract on Friday, parting ways with their top offseason acquisition from a year ago.

“Mike had some real behavioral issues we felt we could not tolerate going forward,” Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said.

The Coyotes had sought a playmaking center for years and appeared to have landed one when they signed Ribeiro to a four-year, $22 million contract last offseason.

He was one of the top free agents on the market last year and was considered a major coup for the franchise’s new ownership group, IceArizona, which had agreed on a lease agreement to keep the team in Glendale just three days earlier.

The 34-year-old Ribeiro showed flashes of the brilliance he had in Washington, where he played at a point-per-game pace during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

But as the season wore on, Ribeiro became less effective and struggled with personal problems despite playing for Tippett, his former coach in Dallas.

Ribeiro was a healthy scratch in games against Pittsburgh and New Jersey late in the season while the Coyotes were fighting for a playoff spot and was largely ineffective down the stretch. He finished with 16 goals and 31 assists in 80 games.